Reading the model outputs and following this thread , noone can deny it has been a long hard slog. Models, to some extent reached a level agreement for cold, albeit tenuously just in time for the SSW to start making its presence felt at lower levels. I may be wrong but suspect that SSW interaction and uncertain influence is, at least for the next couple of days going to shake things up with models reverting to more extreme variables. My feeling is that whilst there are so many positives for a cold spell, people are now seeking the intricate detail ie: will it snow imby. Too soon imo. The only way to stay sane is to look for trends/patterns for the next few runs until models settle down. It has been said many times on here in Winters past - "let the cold come in first and then see what follows" This is so true. As a mere layperson, I am quietly optimistic that we may just see something special. I could be very wrong but if nothing else, I am happy to have witnessed some spectacular charts over the last couple of weeks which puts us in a far better position than Winters a few years ago.